in my line of work (warehousing and logistics) i come into contact with a lot of truckers, many of them long-haul boys, and i had an idea: for those with sleeper cab trucks, do you think it's possible to make a fish tank that's got either a gyro swivel system, or a set of piston shocks sensitive enough to account for the bumpiness of a semi at highway speeds, and keep the water still enough for bettas (or other fish) to live happily in it?

So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
'Cause there's bugger-all down here on Earth.

Water in/on a moving vehicle will always get inertia. I've tried cushioning as well as fastening - same result. The best way to reduce inertia is IME by hanging them. I haven't done this to big buckets/tubs. But small plastic bags will not splash much because the bag sways back and forth instead of the water.

That being said, the safest way to keep tanks in moving vehicles is by having tight lids on them. On smooth straight roads, there shouldn't be much inertia. But when the vehicle hits bumps or makes sharp turns, the water will sway and may spill.

The spillage is not the problem i believe, the problem is how to reduce the earthquake feeling on the fish.

exactly. that's why i though either piston shocks, or a free-floating gyro system would work.

So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
'Cause there's bugger-all down here on Earth.

I seem to remember an aquarium being installed in a car on Pimp my Ride a loooonng time ago, but they didn't do anything to account for the movement of the water as the car was being driven. They just kind of positioned it between the back seats or something, the poor fishies. I hope that car owner took the tank out when the cameras stopped rolling.

I know they make cars that are supposed to be low shock and you aren't supposed to feel the bumbs and dips in the road, but even that won't keep you from feeling the car turning, and that alone would throw water everywhere. Some sort of gyro system might help with keeping the fish upright in the tank, but when you turn a little strong there will still be a pull caused by the centripetal force which (I think) would cause the water pressure to fluxuate and might be pretty stressful on a fish if they have to endure it frequently.

On a side note....I think stuff like pistons and/or a gyro system could look really cool on a non-mobile tank! I'm picturing something stem-punk. Oh! and for the inside of the tank, you can have gears as hiding places and wires as the "plants" (of course with no real metal in them).

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